Updated August 16, 2026
Not by price alone, because the highest number is frequently not the highest net proceeds and often is not the offer that closes. On a Los Angeles multifamily deal the comparison that matters is price adjusted for certainty: who the buyer is, where their money comes from, how much of the deal is contingent, how long the contingencies run, how much deposit is at risk and when it goes hard, and whether they have closed comparable buildings in this market before. A buyer $200,000 higher with a 60-day diligence period, a financing contingency, and no track record is not offering more than a buyer $200,000 lower with verified funds and a 21-day close. They are offering an option.
Proof of funds, and where the equity comes from. Bank statements, a fund's capital position, or a lender's term sheet. "Cash offer" means nothing without evidence behind it.
Track record in this market. Have they closed multifamily in Los Angeles? Do they understand RSO, LAHD compliance, and what they are buying? A buyer who does not will discover it during diligence and retrade.
Contingency structure. What is contingent, for how long, and what releases when. This is where the real difference between offers usually lives.
Deposit size and hard date. A large deposit that goes hard early is a genuine commitment. A small deposit refundable for 45 days is not.
Financing. All cash, assuming your existing loan, or new debt — and if new debt, how far along are they. A buyer with a signed term sheet is in a different category from one who will "start the process."
Total escrow timeline. Especially if you are in a 1031 exchange, where the deadlines do not move for anyone.
Price and the seller's cost allocation. Who pays what, and whether the offer asks you to absorb costs custom would put elsewhere.
The buy-it-and-retrade play. Some buyers bid high to win exclusivity and then negotiate down after inspections, knowing the seller has lost market time and momentum. The tell is a high price paired with a long diligence period and a small deposit.
Unverified financing. A price that only works with debt the buyer cannot actually obtain.
Assignment language. A buyer who intends to sell the contract rather than close on it. Read the assignment provision carefully.
Contingencies that never quite release. Extension requests that arrive one week at a time until the seller has no alternatives left.
Ask every buyer the same questions, in writing. Source of funds, closing timeline, contingencies, deposit and hard date, lender, and recent comparable closings with references. Serious buyers answer promptly; the answers themselves are informative.
Call the references. Brokers on their last two LA closings will tell you whether the buyer closed on the terms they signed.
Run a net sheet for each offer. Price is not proceeds. Commission, transfer taxes including Measure ULA, California withholding, loan payoff and any prepayment cost, credits requested, and cost allocations all differ between offers, sometimes by more than the price gap.
Counter on structure, not only on price. The most useful counter is often "we will accept your number with a 21-day diligence period and $250,000 hard at signing." That converts a high bid into a real one, or reveals that it was not.
Keep a backup in writing. The single best protection against a retrade is a second buyer who is genuinely still there.
Sometimes it plainly is — a well-capitalized buyer who has closed similar LA buildings, offering the top price with a short diligence period and a substantial deposit going hard quickly. That happens, and it happens most often when the building has been prepared and marketed well enough to generate real competition.
That is the underlying point: the quality of your options is set before the offers arrive. A complete information package, clean financials, and a marketing process that reaches the right buyers produce offers that are both higher and more certain. A thin package produces offers full of contingencies, because the contingencies are how buyers protect themselves against what they have not been told.
Build a one-page comparison across every offer — price, net proceeds, buyer, funds verified, contingencies, deposit and hard date, and timeline — and compare the rows rather than the headline. Then counter on structure to convert the strongest price into the strongest certainty. And keep the runner-up warm in writing, because the offer you accept is only as good as your alternative if it fails.
Should I always take the all-cash offer?
Not automatically. All cash removes financing risk, which is worth real money, but a well-qualified financed buyer with a signed term sheet and a short contingency period can be nearly as certain at a higher price. Verify the cash before you pay a premium for it.
Can I counter more than one buyer at the same time?
Yes, and a structured best-and-final round is common on well-marketed LA multifamily. It has to be run transparently and consistently — buyers talk to each other, and a process that looks manipulated loses the serious bidders first.
What if the top two offers are close?
Then choose on certainty: whoever has verified funds, the shortest contingency period, the largest deposit going hard soonest, and the strongest record of closing comparable buildings here. A small price difference is not worth a large certainty difference.
Michael Sterman is Senior Managing Director Investments at Marcus & Millichap.
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